Billie Piper to star in new play inspired by the phone hacking scandal

The National Theatre will this Monday premiere a play inspired by the phone hacking scandal and the axis of power between politicians, police and Press that it has been developing in secret for 18 months.

The play, entitled Great Britain, was also inspired by the MPs’ expenses scandal and the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Richard Bean, the writer behind the award-winning hit One Man, Two Guvnors, wrote the "fast and furious anarchic satire" in anger at the network of relationships at the top of society, the National's artistic director Nicholas Hytner revealed today.

But he insisted that Billie Piper, who leads a cast who have been rehearsing since April, does not play Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of News International and part of the prime minister's "Chipping Norton set", who was yesterday cleared of any wrongdoing in the phone hacking scandal.

"She is not an editor. She is not based on Rebekah Brooks. There is no character in this play that is identifiable as any living protagonist," he said.

But he admitted there were parallels. "Richard was made angry by what he saw as an unhealthy network of relationships at the top of society between press, police and politicians. It has politicians and the police in its sights every bit as much as it has the press in its sights."

It was " not specific about this government" and phone-hacking was "part of the narrative" but not a major story line, he added.

Piper, 31, plays Paige Britain who is described as the "ambitious young news editor of The Free Press, a tabloid newspaper locked in a never-ending battle for more readers".

Sir Nicholas, who is directing the production, said: "As satire always is, it is an exaggeration and grotesque distortion of current events. But I hope it throws a critical light on current events through a fictional treatment of them."

He said he was always clear the play should not be unveiled until the court cases were over. The project was "unprecedented" in its swift turn-around of five days from announcement to first performance which will, unusually, also be the press night for critics.

But he said: "It's ready. It's fully prepared. We could have opened it last week. It's a great stroke of fortune that we haven't had to wait too long."

The first tickets go on sale today with more tomorrow. The play will run in the Lyttelton theatre at the National from Monday until August 23.